A New Visions Commentary
paper published January 2004 by The National Center for Public
Policy Research. Reprints permitted provided source is credited.

As the 2004 political campaigns heat up,
Jesse Jackson is making the rounds to rally support for liberal
candidates and stirring the pot on hot racial issues.

Officially in my hometown of Austin, Texas,
to speak to the African-American Chambers of Commerce, he crammed
more into this visit than a simple speech on business. As usual,
much hype and controversy surrounded his visit as he continues
to proclaim his himself the voice of equality for minorities.

Not only is it erroneous to insinuate
that blacks need a leader, it is an insult to be led by the likes
of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Who elected them?

Setting aside for a moment the issue of
our needing to be led, if we are to have a leader, he should have
character and dignity. If our aim is to improve education, why
not have a leader with a solid education or background in teaching
to push for progress in our schools? If we want our young black
men to respect women and stop having out-of-wedlock children,
is it too much to ask that the man leading us not have fathered
a child out of wedlock while married? And, if we desire respect
from the police, should not our leaders support the police in
their fight against crime - including against our own - instead
of coming to the aid of scandal for publicity's sake?

During Jackson's Austin visit, he said
our children must be able to "live together in a multiracial,
multicultural society." To accomplish this, he may want
to cease the archaic talk about the "fight for equal opportunity."
Instead, let kids know equal opportunity already exists. It's
theirs for the taking when they respect their teachers and other
adults, study in school to be their best and make abstinence a
priority. He might also tell police officers we will stop taking
up the causes of black criminals so that racial profiling will
die along with black-on-black crime.

The need for a black leader, however,
is at least as outdated as it is unproductive. Should these leaders
be inclined to promote racial healing instead of continually fueling
the fires of animosity, we might be onto something. Why, after
roughly 40 years of leadership in the fight for equality, are
these people still preaching the same stories of discontent and
despair? If they are true leaders, shouldn't we expect to see
light at the end of the tunnel by now?

What's really going on is that Americans,
so desperate for racial cohesiveness, are letting these people
move in on a societal cash cow that they are now unwilling to
abandon.

In Jackson's case, he's president of the
Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. He has made a very lucrative career out
of fighting on our behalf. But if he was unable to portray us
as underdogs, Jackson would fade away. And how is it that he
is allowed to wholly represent us? It's because he preaches that
we are unequal in the eyes of discrimination, and so many of us
believe him.

Not until he and his disciples move on
will blacks receive proper representation and respect. As long
as they continue to "lead" us, we will be seen merely
as followers - a monolithic race that depends on the shakedowns,
threats and tirades of these unelected and, at best, shifty black
men to make our case.

If we are to ever move along as individuals
and thrive in this multiculturalist world that Jackson speaks
of, the first step is to move it along without the usual representatives
who continually discredit our ability to think and speak for ourselves.

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(Lisa Fritsch is a member of
the National Advisory Council of the African-American leadership
network Project 21.)

Note: New Visions Commentaries reflect the views of their author,
and not necessarily those of Project 21.